Young Love
by DoubleTheTrouble22
Summary: Grell x William fanfic about when they're young reapers, before Will becomes supervisor of the Dispatch Center. Hope you enjoy! Please, no flames. They will be laughed at. Double
1. Prologue

Prologue - Grell's PoV

How did I end up in this position? I find myself hanging from the gallows in front of a large crowd of people. I have several bloody whip marks on my body, from where I was whipped before I was hung. The priest walks up in front of me, the man who roped me in. I fought hard, but I was caught by the priest and some of his loyal followers.

"Everyone, the hanging is about to begin, so please settle yourself in for the entertainment. Let me explain our victim today. His name is Grell Sutcliff, twenty years old. He was found to be a sinful homosexual." Most of the crowd gasps. "Yes, shocking, I know. Now, let the hanging begin."

Everyone in the crowd cheers as the priest's smile curves into a sinister, evil smile. I see a strange man with spectacles, long, silver hair, and a long, black coat waltz up through the crowd. He appears to be carrying a scythe. The priest signals one of his goons to pull the lever. The lever was pulled, and I felt the ground fall out from beneath me. The rope that was around my neck tightened, and the last thing I heard was a faint snap.

…

I regain consciousness in a strange, white room. Where the hell am I? I thought I died. I hear a slightly strange chuckle, and I quickly turned toward the noise. It was the same strange man from earlier, in the crowd.

"My my," he says. "It's been years since I've reaped the soul of a future reaper." He looks at me. "It seems you have awakened, lad." He walks over to me.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask.

He bows to me. "I am the Undertaker, at your service."

"Where am I?" I ask him.

"You are at the Shinigami Dispatch Center," he replies with ease.

My eyes widen."Where?"

"The Shinigami Dispatch Center. It's where all reapers work. It's where they learn to reap souls, and train to become a collector of souls."

I stare at him in disbelief.

"Your training starts next week. I will provide you with all the information you need to know." He leaves the room.

This is shocking. I go from death, to a trainee in collecting souls. What an adventure, and it's only beginning.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - 3 months later

Finally, our graded exams are over. Today, we'll learn who we are paired with for our final exams. The final exams consist of investigating the person given to us and determining if they are to live or not. If not, we must reap their soul when they die. If yes, they will be allowed to live and taken off the list for now. I walk into homeroom on time. Hopefully, they pair me with an attractive, smart reaper, otherwise, being partners would be pointless. I sit in my seat and talk to some other future grim reapers around me. All of them seem quite attractive. One by one, reapers are called to the main office to discover who their partners are. Finally, after about twenty minutes of waiting, Mr. Undertaker calls me.

"Grell Sutcliff and William T. Spears."

I look at the quiet, black haired reaper, who is reading a book at the moment. Why were both our names called? He bookmarks his book and stands up. I stand as well and walk to the door. We both walk through the door and to the office. Neither of us speak to each other. He looks at the floor as he walks. We both walk up to the office and walk through the door. We approach the man behind a desk, which I believe is the principal of the Academy. He looks up from his paperwork at us.

"Mr. Grell Sutcliff, and Mr. William T. Spears, I presume," he says, examining us both. We both nod our heads. The principal continues. "You two will be partnered for the final exams." We both look at each other. They partnered us together? He's not the best thing to look at in my opinion.

"Grell Sutcliff, you received an A++ in practical skills, a B in written exams, and a C in ethics, giving you an A average." He looks at William.

"William T. Spears, you received straight B's in practical skills, written exams, and ethics, giving you a B average." WIlliam nods his head in response.

B average? How pathetic. I did much better than him. How could they pair me with someone so beneath me? I will not tolerate working with such an imbecile.

Sir, may I say something?" I ask the principal

"You may," he replies.

I put my hands on his desk and lean on it. "Why do you pair me with this B average idiot?" I see William stare at the floor ashamed.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sutcliff?" the principal replies.

"No, let me restate that. How dare you pair me with that idiot?"

"Mr. Sutcliff, you were assigned to work with him, so you will work with him whether you like it or not!"

"You said that I got an A++ in practical skills, right?"

"Yes….." he says confused.

"Well then, allow me to display my skills on you." I push back my jacket and reveal the sickle belted to my hip.

"Mr. Sutcliff," the principal says, standing to his feet. "We are done talking. Get out of my office. Both of you."

I glare at William. "You better stay out of my way."

He bows to me slightly. "I will try my best."

The principal hands me the file we will need for the exam, and pushes us out of his office.

…

"There he is," William says, looking through the boy's window with binoculars. "Thomas Wallis, struggling novelist."

I am looking at his file, extremely bored by this already. "Well, that's that. To the 'To Die List' you go." I pull a rubber stamp out of my pocket, and the ink, coating the stamp with ink. I go to stamp the document, when William steals it from me.

"We should use the full month they have given us to investigate."

"What's there to investigate?" I ask, yawning. "He's a hopeless novelist. Nothing will come out of him that will benefit the world. Anyways, I've quickly grown tired with the human world. It's disgusting and drab."

"I'll do the investigating then if you won't," he says. "I want to get a good grade on this."

I sit on the roof and yawn again. "Fine then. You have fun with that." I yawn, stretch and lay on the roof. "Wake me when you finish for the night." I hear him sigh as he looks through his binoculars again.

…

I walk over to William, who is observing Thomas Wallis from behind a tree.

"Alright, I'm here," I say, grinning at him with my hands on my hips.

He turns to me and whispers. "What are you wearing?" He looks me up and down.

I just happen to be wearing a red military uniform. I stole it off a guard a few blocks back because I thought it would look good on me.

"Nevermind my attire," I say, waving my hand at him. "Now, are you ready to stamp the boy's file yet?"

"I've only been at this for three days. I need more time than that to make my decision."

I sigh at him, annoyed. "Fine, but don't take too much longer. I'm tired of the human world. There are no attractive men in sight." I growl at him. "Hurry up and make a decision.

He sighs at me. "Fine, I will." He walks quietly over to Thomas Wallis, who is sitting on a bench, looking a bit depressed. I stay behind the tree.

"Sir," William says, getting Wallis' attention. The boy, who looks to only be in his early twenties looks at William, confused.

"Don't get up please," William says. "I am William T. Spears, at your service." He sits next to Wallis. He points to the pile of parchment in the boy's hands. "What is that?"

"Oh," Thomas Wallis says. "This is my manuscript. I had just taken to a publisher. They denied it though." He looks back at the ground.

"May I read it?" William asks him. The boy looks up at him.

"Certainly," he replies, handing the pile to William. He takes some time to read through a part of the manuscript. I watch in awe at the two men. How could William be so direct with him? This was not in our training. Not at all. You mustn't engage directly with your victims. I must stop him.

"You may wish to edit this, your plot is a tad roundabout," William says, looking at Wallis. The boy stares at the ground, slightly embarrassed.

"You know, that's funny, the publisher said about the same thing." I emerge from behind the tree, grab William by his tie, and pull his face toward mine.

"What the devil are you doing?" I growl at him.

"You told me to hurry, so that is what I am doing," he replies in a straight, matter-of-fact tone."

"This isn't what I meant. Are you an idiot?!" I reply clenching his tie tighter in my hand.

"Nothing in the test instructions forbids us to contact the target face-to-face."

"Um…...why do you have a sickle?" Wallis asks, confused by the situation.

William and I both quickly turn to him. "They're death scythes, actually," William says.

I pull on his tie and growl at him once again. "Quit talking."

"Wait," Wallis says thinking. "Death scythes? Like the Grim Reaper carries in all legends?"

William nods and stands. "Indeed. We are Grim Reapers after all." I gasp loudly at him, standing behind William. The boy's eyes widen at William.

William pushes his spectacles up on his face. "I'm afraid that you are scheduled to die in the near future, we are simply here to investigate if you really ought to pass." I pull my sickle from my hip and put the blade in front of William's neck, threatening to slice it open.

"I should have killed you the moment I met you," I say to William. The boy's eyes lighten up at us.

"Oh, I get it now! You two are actors, right? Is this some sort of new idea that involves audience participation?" He looks at me. "You're so pretty! With your flame red hair, and porcelain skin, you look as if you were born to be an actor!"

I stop threatening William's throat. "Yes of course! We're actors, right William?"

"We're not-" I shush William.

"We're actors," I growl at him. William sighs and nods his head.

The boy's eyes light up. "Thank you two! I just got a great idea for my next novel!" He runs off from us in the direction of his home.

…

The night before Wallis is scheduled to die, William and I sneak in the boy's window after he had fallen asleep. William picks up his latest manuscript.

"_The Tale of Will the Reaper,_" He says aloud. "Looks like we really did inspire him."

"Indeed," I reply, reading some of it. "This is quite good too." William starts reading it.

"It is, isn't it?" he replies, half paying attention to what's going on around him.

I smile. "William falls in love with a human girl, one who is scheduled to die. He picks love over Shinigami rule, and ends up giving his soul for the maiden's. She doesn't remember him, but always feels him inside."

"Also, William's friend and fellow red reaper, Grell, helps William and the maiden out," William says, looking up at me.

"The boy is quite perceptive, isn't he?" I reply, smiling.

William nods his head and looks back at the story. "I believe that this will be a literary classic."

I ponder that thought. Literary classic? This boy could really contribute to the world in a positive way. I would let him live. Hopefully, that is William's decision as well, or we'll be clashing when the time comes tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The next day

"Maybe we should let the boy live, William. I mean, he is a talented novelist. You even said his story would be a literary classic," I say to William, as we stand on the roof, observing Thomas Wallis, the man that we must collect a soul from, running to the publisher with his completely finished manuscript for his novel, "_The Tale of Will the Reaper."_

"That won't be necessary, Grell," William says to me. I look over at the black haired reaper, who is adjusting his glasses. "We shall reap his soul as we were told to."

"Oh we shall? Have you forgotten the loophole? If he brings something positive to the world, they can be allowed to live. Is there a problem with doing that?" My voice starts turning into a growl.

"Oh, no problem at all," he replies pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Your reasons are just lacking in valuable factual information. You want him to live based off of my opinion of his novel, am I correct?"

My eyebrow twitches annoyed at him. "Yes. What of it?"

"I personally believe that you are mistaken about this , Grell," he says, observing Wallis' every move instead of looking at me.

I look at him in disbelief. "So, you believe that I am mistaken?" My voice turns deeper and slower. "I am mistaken." I touch the handle of my sickle. "Those are fighting words." I pull my sickle out and swing at him, William pulling his out just before I hit his cheek with it, blocking my shot. "Mr. B Average likes to talk back, huh? You still haven't learned, have you?" I slide my sickle back off of his and swing once again at him, managing to nick his pristine, black blazer jacket. He blocks my next incoming shot and kicks me in the stomach, knocking me to the ground. I slide backwards on my knees, and quickly get back up. He gets close to my face and tries to strike my shoulder, but I quickly block it. We keep swinging at each other, myself avoiding being hit once by flipping away from him. After I land, he manages to get behind me, and kick me in the back, knocking me to the ground again. I get up painfully, my knees knocking together and a blush on my face.

"He may be a famous novelist one day, and his story indeed will be a classic," William says, pushing up his glasses. "But the world will never know it, and will frankly not miss his absence. The world will move on without his presence." I fall to my knees, shaking from what may be anger and pain. I see him walk over to me from under my bangs. He puts his sickle away and kneels next to me.

"I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?" he says, his voice sounding distant. Has his skin always glowed like that? Has he always looked that attractive? How have I never noticed before? What is this pain in my chest? Am…..am I in love? With him? Impossible. How could I fall for a guy like him, especially so quickly? I look up at him, flustered.

"Y-yes," I reply. "I'm fine."

"Good," he replies standing up. "I don't want to hinder my grade by hurting you." He holds his hand out to me.

I take his hand, blushing even more at the contact and stand up. I don't look at him. If I do, I might explode. William looks at a clock in town.

"We must hurry, it's nearly 4 o'clock." He runs off the Thomas Wallis. My body freezes on the roof, and watches William's handsome body run away from me. Down in the streets, I hear a carriage crash into someone, and keep going. That must be Thomas Wallis who got hit. I see William jump back up onto a roof a couple minutes later, the cinematic records flowing into his death scythe. Suddenly, one reel smacks William's glasses off his face. I gasp as William looks around desperately for his glasses, being blind without them. One by one, reels from the records wrap around William's legs, pulling him to the ground. I have to go save him. I start running over to him as he starts yelling in agonizing pain as Wallis' cinematic records flow into his body. I run over to him quickly, and slice at the records, freeing William. I sit on the roof, cross-legged as William looks up at me.

"First, you get me bothered and hot, and then you run off to go play with your little writer boy. Tsk tsk." I stand up, kneel down to William's glasses, pick them up, and place them back on William's face. "You should be more careful with those." I stand up. "Now, let's take care of these dirty records." I yell at them as I strike them. "Keep your hands off my man, you dirty homewrecker!"

"I am not your man," William says, going after other parts of the records and collecting them. I jump over to him and stand behind him.

"Shall we send him off now, William?" I ask, smirking at him.

William nods his head. We stand back to back as the records rush at us. We put the blades of our sickles together, creating some sort of slingshot.

"Here's to our collaborations, darling," I say to William, watching the records.

"I am not your darling," he replies, watching them as well. We gain enough strength and swing at them together, knocking them back and rendering themselves useless for a moment. William jumps up towards them and strikes them with his death scythe, collecting them in the blade. He lands on the ground after he collected them. I see cinematic records being collected in the skies all around us.

"Oh look," I say to William, pointing. "It looks like there are more reapers in the area." He looks at what I'm pointing at, keeping a straight face. I look at him, and find myself blushing at him. "It's a beautiful sight."

William looks at me. "We should be returning to the Academy and turning in our file." He starts to walk away from me.

I grab his sleeve. "Wait, there's something I want to do first."

He sighs. "What is it?"

"Follow me if you really want to know," I say, jumping down to the street below. I run over to Wallis' dead bleeding body, abandoned on the snowy winter road. Around him, his manuscript is scattered. I start picking up all the pages. William jumps down next to me.

"What are you doing?" he asks me.

I look at him. "I'm collecting a little souvenir from our first assignment together."

"Hopefully our last," I hear William mumble to himself. I ignore his comment and finish picking the pages up.

"I'll have to put them in order later. For now, let's get back to the Academy."

We report back to the Academy where our file is stamped and we get our new glasses. The two of us have finally become full fledged reapers. We come back from getting our spectacles when the two of us get called to the office again.

"What does he want now?" I say to William, walking down the hallway. He shrugs his shoulders. We walk into the office and walk up to the principal's desk.

"You called for us, sir?" William says, bowing slightly.

"Yes," the principal replies, standing. "We are currently experimenting how dual teams of reapers can reap a soul to see if all reapers should have a partner, so the job gets done quicker and more efficiently. We are trying this out on our new reapers to see if this idea will work." He looks at us both. "We would like you two to stay partners until we finish our study."

William's eyes widen at him. "But sir-"

"No buts, my boy. It won't kill you to work with your fellow colleague in the field for a while longer."

"How long will this study take?" he asks the principal.

"A few months I would say."

William sighs and adjusts his glasses. "I understand sir."

The principal smiles. "Good, I am glad we understand one another. You two start on Monday. See you then."

The two of us exit his office. William walks quickly ahead of me.

"William, wait up!" I say, running to catch up with him. I catch up to him. "Why are you so upset about working with me for longer?"

William grabs my shoulders and forcefully pushes me up against the wall. He growls at me quietly. "I could deal with your dramatic idiocy for a month, but I don't think I can handle you any longer, and now, I'm forced to work with you once again. How angry do you think I am right now?"

My eyes are opened wide at him, and I feel a warm blush on my cheeks. His face is so close to mine. "But darling-"

"Don't 'but darling' me. And for the last time, I am not your darling!' He lets go of me and storms away. I slide to the floor as my heart beats a million miles an hour. He was so close to mine. If only it wasn't to yell at me. I bury my face in my hands. I feel tear drops trickle down my cheeks. I start to quietly cry in the corner of a dark hallway.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After a while of crying in the abandoned hallway for a while, I head back my flat in the Shinigami realm. I walk in the building, clutching Wallis' novel to my chest. I walk up the stairs to my flat. I walk through the endless hall since my flat is the last on this floor. I hear a bunch of reapers talking inside one flat. I walk by it quietly when the door opens.

"Hey, Sutcliff!" I hear a male voice yell to me. I look back at them, unenthusiastically. He walks over to me.

"I'm having a party for the graduate reapers," he says. "Want to join?"

I manage a small, painful smile. "No thanks, I'm really tired. I'm just going to head back to my flat and go to sleep. See you all Monday." I wave a little and walk to my flat. The door next to my flat opens, and in the doorway is William. I jump away from him, a little startled. He doesn't seem to notice me. He looks down the hallway and rubs his temples.

"I wish they would be quieter," he says to himself. "I'm trying to enjoy a peaceful, quiet evening." He looks at me. "Oh, hello Grell. Not going to the party?"

I shake my head no, hugging the novel tighter into my chest. "I'm just heading back to my flat to be alone. I'm probably going to start organizing my little keepsake from earlier." I walk to the next door and pause, turning back to William. "Wait, you live next to me?"

He nods his head like I'm stupid. "Yes, I have since I moved into the building. You never knew?"

"No," I reply. "You're such a quiet neighbor. I thought that flat was empty."

He sighs. "I always can hear you in there though. I never get peace and quiet in my flat."

"Oh, my flat keeps outside noise out pretty well," I say. "You can come over to be in the quiet any time you want."

He grits his teeth together. "As nice as that sounds, I must decline. My apologies."

"Oh please," I start. "I know it's because you hate me. You even said it yourself."

I see his expression falter before my eyes. His mask is disappearing. "Well….." he starts.

"Don't even start," I retort, cutting him off. "You can't take it back now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to enjoy my evening. Alone." I turn back to my flat, but look back at him. "Good evening, William." I walk in my flat and slam the door.

I lay Wallis' novel on my desk. I pull off my jacket and lay it on the back of the chair. I sit in the chair and start organizing the pages. About five minutes later, I hear a knock at the door.

"The door is open," I say, not looking at the door. The door opens slowly, and someone walks in and closes it. Someone's footsteps creak over the hardwood floors.

"Grell," a deep, familiar voice says from behind me. I jump from out of my chair and looks behind me. I see William standing stiffly behind me.

"What do you want?" I ask him, sitting back down in my chair.

"I came to apologize for my behavior," he replies standing next to me.

"Really?" I say a bit sarcastically. "What makes you think that you should apologize for that?"

He frowns at me and continues. "I am sorry for how I had treated you earlier today. It was inappropriate on my part to treat you in such a way. Please accept my apology."

I think about his words before turning to him. I look at him dead in the eye.

"Are your words sincere?" I ask him, examining him carefully. I see his mask remain straight. I see him nod his head.

"Yes Grell. I mean what I say."

"You truly mean your words?" I stand up and stand close to him, our bodies almost touching.

"Yes. I am giving you another chance to prove yourself."

I smile at him. "Thank you." He puts his hand out to me to shake. I take his hand in mine, and we shake hands. I feel my cheeks heat up at our contact. His hands are strong, yet soft. Our hands fit nicely together. He lets go, leaving my hand feeling cold. I sit back down.

"Are you working on organizing your little souvenir?" he asks me, leaning on my desk.

I nod my head.

"How is that task coming along?"

"Alright, I guess." I organize one of the chapters.

"Would you like any help?"

I look at him, thinking about what to say. "That sounds lovely, but I think I will be ok. Thank you for offering."

"You are quite welcome," he replies. We stay silent for a while.

"The hours are growing late," William says, standing up straight. "Have a good night, Grell." He walks to the door.

"Goodnight," I say just before he leaves. He closes the door quietly. I look up from the story and blush, hugging one of the chapters to my chest. William was so nice to me tonight, the nicest he has ever been to me. I smile and giggle giddily. I look at the time. I should probably call it a night, but I want to finish a couple more chapters. I continue until I fall asleep at my desk.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- A few days later

I look into Will's eyes carefully, his eyes glistening at me. It can't be. If it were real, he would be scolding me for our current actions. Hovering above my nude body is WIlliam, also in a nude state.

"I love you, Grell," he says to me, slowly kissing me again. I kiss back softly. I will never get tired of the feeling of his body surrounding me. Suddenly, Will starts softly saying my name.

"Grell, Grell."

**...**

"Grell! Wake up! We're going to be late for our first day of work! I can't go without you!"

I groggily lift my head off my desk, quickly finding that I have a knot in my neck. Of course it was a dream. Such events would never happen with William. I sigh and stretch.

"Good morning, William."

He looks at the clock anxiously. "Go get changed, we're going to be late for our first day!"

I stand up. "I'm going. I'm going. No need to be bossy." I have a feeling today won't be very nice for me, since William is in one of his 'stick-up-the-ass' moods. I go to my bedroom and change into my work clothes, which consist of a white dress shirt, black dress pants, a black blazer jacket, and my lace up ankle boots. I quickly fix my hair in the mirror, clean my spectacles, and go back to where William is waiting.

"I am ready now, happy?" I ask, annoyed.

"Yes. Now, let's go."

We walk to the Dispatch Center in utter silence. Every so often, William mumbles something inaudible, but I don't pay much attention to what he's saying. Eventually, we get there and head to the main office, where we will meet our new boss and get our first file. We walk up to the secretary's desk. She looks up at us from her typewriter.

"May I help you?" she asks us. William does all the talking.

"Yes, we're here to see the supervisor for our first file."

"New reapers?" she says. "Go right in then. He isn't seeing anyone right now."

William nods slightly. "Thank you." We enter the supervisor's office.

An aged man with gray hair and round spectacles looks up at us from his paperwork. "Sit please." We sit at a couple chairs in front of his desk.

"Names,' he says starting to search a collection of files.

"William T. Spears, and Grell Sutcliff," William says for both of us. The supervisor searches his files and pulls one out.

"Spears and Sutcliff," he reads on the outside of the file. He looks up at us. "I almost forgot, let me introduce myself. My name is Steffon Cosgrove, but you will call me Mr. Cosgrove. If you couldn't figure it out, I am the supervisor of the Dispatch Center. You will do as I tell you without arguing. Arguing will only lead to more work, got it?" William and I both nod our heads. "Good. Here's your first assignment. Mess it up, and you're both fired, got it?"William takes the assignment from him.

"Understood, sir," William replies.

"Understood," I reply.

"Good," Mr. Cosgrove says to us. "Now, off to work with you two." We leave his office and walk down the hall to Collections, taking a seat on one of the couches there.

"Let's see what our assignment says," William says, opening the folder. I take the papers enclosed before William can and start reading them. My eyes widen.

"Oh," I say dramatically. "What an interesting assignment."

"What does it say?" William asks.

"It says here that we must decide if Arthur Cambridge will be allowed to live."

Will's eyes widen. "The Duke of England?"

I nod my head. "Oh, poisoned. How boring and overused. I would choose something more interesting to inflict death on him."

Will sighs at my comment. "Then how would you kill him?"

"I would torture him slowly, making just a big enough slit in his throat that he would slowly bleed out. I would make sure to tie him up, so he couldn't get away." I smile a big toothy smile at William.

He looks at me, slightly disturbed. "Give me that." He snatches it from my hands. He reads the page. "We have two weeks until the collection."

"How are we going to determine if he should die or not? It won't be a possibility to get close to the duke."

William sighs. "I don't know, Grell. I don't even know how we'll get into his home to retrieve his soul."

I slump back on the couch. "This will be much harder than we thought it would."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After pondering our given task for hours, our shift ended. We still have no idea how we're going to complete it. I tell William that I need food, and he decides to help me in the market. It's early spring, meaning garden fresh vegetables are becoming available. As William is haggling with one of the sellers, I see a rich-looking coach pull up. A butler opens the coach door, and out walks Duke and Duchess Cambridge. My jaw drops, our target is in sight. I hear William and the seller's voices getting awfully loud, but I pay no attention to it.

"We must decide on what dishes will be served at the party," the duke says. He looks at his butler. "What do you suggest Clarence?"

Party? The duke is having a party? That's it! That just might be our ticket right into the duke's home!

"What night is the party again, my lord?" the butler questions his master.

"April 3rd," he replies. "Come, my wife. We must find the freshest ingredients." They walk into the busy market.

I quickly pull out the file given to us and look at the collection date. It says: _April 3rd._ This is divine! Just divine! I run over to William, who's still at it with that seller.

"William darling! Wonderful news!"

"Give me a second, Grell," William replies. "I've almost broken her down. Now listen here lady. Two pounds for the bag of carrots. No more, no less." He seems quite frustrated by now. The old woman sighs.

"Fine," she says with a scowl. "Two pounds for the bag of carrots." They exchange said items.

"Thank you, have a lovely day," WIll says, trying to manage a smile.

"Bah." The woman shooes us away.

William sighs. "Here are the carrots you wanted."

I take them from him. "Thank you, William. I'll give you some for your trouble."

"Oh, thank you. Now, what did you want to tell me?"

"Ok, first, the Duke and Duchess are in the market right now."

Will's eyes widen. "Really? Maybe we could somehow talk to them here."

"I doubt it. Their butler probably won't allow two poor strangers to speak with his master-and-lady."

Will sighs. "You're right."

I smile excitedly. "But, maybe at a party, we could talk to them."

Will looks at me carefully. "What are you saying?"

"They're having a party the day of the collection. If we sneak in, we can talk to him, and either save him, or collect his soul."

"Grell," Will stares at me, amazed. "That's actually quite brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you were too busy haggling with an old woman for a bag of carrots."

William laughs a little. "True."

"Let's get these vegetables back to my flat," I suggest. "We can talk more about this on the way."

…

We get back to my flat. The whole time coming home, we tried to think of a plan, but neither of us had anything. Well, I actually did, but I don't think William will like it very much. Maybe if I somehow make him really happy, he'll accept the idea. I know, I'll make us both dinner. I'm not too bad at cooking. Will sits down on my sofa.

"I'll go make us dinner," I say, heading into my kitchen. Will stays on the couch and looks at the file. After about two hours, I had finished making dinner. I peer out of the kitchen to Will, who's looking at one of the books on my bookshelf.

"O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art

As glorious to this night, being o'er my head

As is a winged messenger of heaven

Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes

Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him

When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds

And sails upon the bosom of the air."

He's reading out loud. I know Romeo and Juliet by heart. The words spill out of my mouth naturally.

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

William suddenly looks at me, startled by my speaking.

"Sorry for startling you," I say to him. "I just wanted to tell you that dinner's ready."

"Alright," William says, putting the book back. He joins me in the kitchen.

"What did you make?" He asks me.

"Beef stew," I reply. "Served with homemade cornbread."

"Oh, sounds wonderful," Will replies.

We both eat the dinner I had made.

"That was wonderful, Grell," Will says, wiping the crumbs from his face with his napkin.

"Thank you," I reply. He seems satisfied, so now I can ask him. "William, I have an idea of how to get into the Duke's party."

"How?" Will inquires.

"I don't know if you will agree with this, but we would have to go as….."

Will stares at me. "As?"

I bite my bottom lip and blurt it out. "A couple."

William stares at me as he contemplates it. I feel like he might reject the idea.

"I don't know," he says to me. "You look feminine, but is anyone going to believe that you really are a woman?"

"I have my ways," I reply. "You don't think I'm think beautiful without doing anything, do you?"

William sighs. "Let me think about it overnight." He stands up. "Thank you for the meal. Goodnight, Grell." He walks out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight, William," I say to him as he leaves the kitchen. I sigh and sit down. He's going to end up saying no to the idea. I can only hope that he says yes. I really want him to say yes. I want to be able to dance with and be close to William, without him pushing me away. I have to hide every day that I have fallen in love with him. It's been so hard. I sigh, clean up from dinner, prepare for bed, and go to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I wake up early the next morning. I had another dream about Will the night before. I've been having them every night lately. I get dressed and head downstairs, just to be met with a knock at the door. I open the door, and see that it's Will. He walks in without me inviting him and closes the door behind him.

"Good morning, William," I say to him.

"Good morning, Grell," he replies.

We stand in silence for a bit.

"I thought about your idea," Will says to break the silence. I look at him.

"And?" I say.

He sighs. "It's the best idea we have. We'll have to go with it."

I smile brightly on the outside. "Really? Thank you, Will!" I hug him tightly. I feel him tense up.

On the inside though, I feel like crying. He only wants to do this because it's our only choice. I wanted him to choose it to be close to me. I guess that's wishful thinking though. William will never love me that way.

I look at him. "You know we're going to have to dance, right?"

"Of course I do," he replies.

"You know how to ballroom dance, right?"

"...Of course I do," he replies hesitantly.

I know he's lying. "Show me then."

He walks towards me, and stands there, obviously not knowing what to do.

"You don't really know how to ballroom dance, do you?" He shakes his head no.

"Lucky for you," I say. "I know how. I can teach you."

He looks at me reluctantly. "Do I have a choice?"

I sigh at him, feeling slightly hurt. "No. We have to dance if we're going as a couple. Not to mention, you need to know how to dance anyway. What if another lady would ask you to dance with them? You would be screwed."

He sighs. "I guess you're right."

"So, shall we start?" I ask. He looks over me.

"Um…..don't you want to get changed first?"

I look down at see that I'm still in my pyjamas. I laugh a little at myself. "Oh, right. Be right back." I go back up to my room and get changed. I get changed into some tan breeches and a white shirt,with a red vest on top. I go back downstairs to William.

"So, are you ready for your lesson?" I ask him.

He slips his coat off. "I guess I am." He puts his coat on the rack and comes over to me.

"Ok," I say. "First, you hold my right hand in your left hand, like this." I hold our hands in the proper position. "Then, you lay your right hand on my back, just above my waist." He places his hand where I told him to. "And then I lay my left hand on the front part of your shoulder." I lay my hand there.

"Ok, now what?" Will asks.

"Well first, we should be closer." I move in closer to him. "This is supposed to be a close, intimate, but proper dance."

Will nods his head, waiting for my next instruction.

"Ok, now, step forward with your left foot, and I'll step back with my right." He follows my instructions, and we step at the same time. "Now, step sideways with your right foot, and I'll follow with my left." He once again follows my instruction, and we step in unison. "Now, close the half of the box by bringing your left foot over to your right." We take the last step in unison. "Now do the same pattern again, but in reverse. Step back with your right foot, sideways with your left, and close with the right." He nods to me and follows the pattern, with my steps following his. He looks at me, waiting for my approval. I nod to him. "You've got it."

We keep dancing for a few minutes. "You got it," I say. "Now, to try some quarter turns. Lead as you normally would, but perform the quarter turn, which should go to the left. This should be done by starting to lead, and turning a quarter turn on the foot that you step sideways with, and then bringing your feet together." He follows my instructions and performs a quarter turn, with me following him. I smile at him. "You're really good at this."  
He smiles at me. "You're a good teacher," he replies.

I blush a little. "Thank you." He performs another quarter turn, with a few more following. He really is good. I feel our bodies get closer and closer to one another, until our chests are touching. I feel myself starting to blush.

"Th-there's one more thing to learn, but it's simple. You'll have to spin me. All you have to do is loosen your grip of my right hand, move your hand off my back and keep doing the boxstep while I spin." He nods his head to me, and starts doing the boxstep again. "Whenever you're ready." He nods to me. I feel him loosen his grip on my hand, his other hand leave my shoulder, and I spin. We return to our original position and keep dancing. I smile to him happily. "That's it! We're successfully waltzing!" He smile brightly at me, and we keep dancing for about ten minutes, talking happily to one another. This is probably the most fun we've ever had together. Eventually, our dancing slows and comes to a stop. We still hold our dance positions.

"Thank you for teaching me, Grell," he says, smiling at me.

"It was no trouble at all, Will," I reply. We look each other in the eyes. Will's golden-green eyes seem to shimmer in the afternoon sun coming through my window. I feel my lips part slightly. Slowly, my face moves closer to William's. Suddenly, he closes the distance with his own soft lips. His lips are so soft, so warm….not what I had imagined. My eyes close and I kiss back. Just as quickly as his lips met mine, they had left. William tries to hide the fact that he's blushing.

"Have a good rest of your day, Grell," he says to me, promptly grabbing his jacket, and leaving my flat. I fall to my knees. William kissed me. I touch my lips. William kissed these lips. I am in utter shock. Is it possible that maybe, he loves me too?


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Will's PoV

_I saw his face drift closer to mine. His lips were parted ever so slightly. They just looked so full, so inviting, so wonderful that I couldn't resist. I went for it and kissed him. His lips felt perfect, soft, warm. I hadn't realized what I had done until it was over. I started to blush, hoping Grell wouldn't notice._

"_Have a good rest of your day, Grell," I managed to say, as I grabbed my jacket and left his flat._

Now, I find myself walking aimlessly through town, replaying that moment over and over again in my mind. Why did I kiss him? I've told myself a thousand times that I don't love him. He's just a colleague that I'm forced to work with. If that's true though, why do I find myself wanting so much more? I can't love him. It's not my place or job. All I'm focused on is making my way up the Dispatch work ladder, all the way to the top. I have big dreams, and Grell's not supposed to be in them. Yet, I find him in my dreams, my daily thoughts, ever since I've had to work with him. I've somehow, admired that idiot.

…Flashback…

"_Grell Sutcliff and William T. Spears."_

_I look up from my book, then at the red haired reaper, who is looking at me. Why were we both called? I bookmark my page in my book and stand up. I see him stand as well. We both walk out of the room in silence, until we get to the office. We walk in and approach the principal of the Academy. He looks up from his paperwork at us._

"_Mr. Grell Sutcliff, and Mr. William T. Spears, I presume," he says, examining us both. We both nod our heads. The principal continues. "You two will be partnered for the final exams." We both look at each other. He seems to examine my face with his eyes. The two of us are forced to work together?_

"_Grell Sutcliff, you received an A++ in practical skills, a B in written exams, and a C in ethics, giving you an A average." He looks at me. "William T. Spears, you received straight B's in practical skills, written exams, and ethics, giving you a B average." I nod my head in response. Grell seems to be very good with his skills in the field, but has a very poor work ethic. I've seen that from how he acts in class, so I see how he got those scores._

_Sir, may I say something?" Grell asks the principal, approaching his desk._

"_You may," he replies._

_He places his hands on the large desk and leans on it. "Why do you pair me with this B average idiot?" I look down at the floor, not making contact with Grell. At least I tried harder than he did on his other tests._

"_Excuse me, Mr. Sutcliff?" the principal replies with a tone, telling Grell to take those words back._

"_No, let me restate that. How dare you pair me with that idiot?" Grell says, slight anger in his tone._

"_Mr. Sutcliff, you were assigned to work with him, so you will work with him whether you like it or not!"_

"_You said that I got an A++ in practical skills, right?" I see where the red head is going with this._

"_Yes….." the principal replies, confused._

"_Well then, allow me to display my skills on you." Grell pushes back his jacket and reveals the sickle belted to his hip._

"_Mr. Sutcliff," the principal says, standing to his feet. "We are done talking. Get out of my office. Both of you."_

_I see him glare at me coldly. "You better stay out of my way."_

_I bow to him slightly. "I will try my best."_

_The principal hands Grell the file we will need for the exam, and pushes us out of his office._

…End of flashback…..

In that moment, I thought I was going to be in a living hell, but somehow, even though I was doing all the work, and pretty much all he did was complain and argue with me, he still intrigued me. He still somehow made me feel good about myself, and the work that I was doing for the both of us.

…Flashback…

_I sit on the roof outside of Wallis' home with binoculars, watching him carefully. He appears to be writing a novel at this moment. Suddenly, someone touches my shoulder._

"_What are you doing, William?" the familiar voice of the redhead says. I jump from the sudden contact, and drop the binoculars onto the ground far below us. I sigh._

"_Well," I say standing up. "I was watching Thomas Wallis, until you made me drop the binoculars. Grell seems to take it very personally._

"_Oh," he says, laying one hand on his chest. "So you dropping them is my fault?" He gives me a slightly flirtatious pout._

"_Yes," I say. "Now stop that."_

"_Stop what?" he says, looking at me innocently._

_I point to him. "That. That little act you're putting on. I'm not buying it."_

_He looks at me defensively. "What act? I'm not acting."_

_Is he lying to me, or is he really unaware of what he just did?I don't have time to contemplate that. I sigh and push up my glasses._

"_Go get the binoculars for me, please. It's the least you could do."_

_He grumbles something and jumps down to the ground to get them. I wait patiently for him to return. He jumps back up, handing them to me._

"_Thank you," I say, taking them back from him, and sitting down at the edge of the roof again. He sighs and sits next to me._

"_What time is it?" he asks. I peer at the clock in his home through my binoculars._

"_9:30 PM," I reply._

"_Ok," he replies, laying back. He suddenly sits back up._

"_Wait, how did you know that?"_

"_I looked at Wallis' clock."_

_Grell takes the binoculars from me. "I want to see if I can see the clock." He looks through them, gets slightly frustrated, and hands them back to me. "You must have a really good eye for small details. I can barely see the clock."_

"_I guess," I reply._

"_That'll be a good skill out in the field for you," he says, looking at me._

_I smile a little internally, but my expression stays straight. "I guess." I look through the binoculars again at him._

"_How long are we going to be here?" Grell asks._

"_All night," I reply, not paying much attention to Grell._

_Without seeing what's happening, I feel the file of papers move from my lap, and someone's head replace them. I stop looking through the binoculars and look down at my lap. In it is a mess of red hair._

"_I'm going to rest then," he says yawning. "Wake me if you need me." He closes his eyes._

_I smile some since I know he can't see me. "Alright." I go back to observing our victim of death._

…End of flashback…..

Somehow, in that moment, the redhead wasn't all that annoying for me. He was being quiet, and he wasn't arguing with me. Sure, he was being lazy, but he often did that. Only now during this assignment we've been given is he calling all the shots. Not that I'm complaining, he owes me for that first assignment. I feel it start to mist around me. I should head back to my flat. If I do though, I'll be close to him. I don't want to be close to him right now. I sit in an alley, and pull my coat over my head the best I can. Why would I rather be with Grell right now? Why would I just love to walk into his flat dripping wet, just to see how he would react, and if he would try to warm me up? I do not love that idiot.

Or, do I?


End file.
